Interpol clarifies implant doc's warrant

LYON, France, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- International police interest in a French man associated with allegedly faulty breast implants has been misreported, Interpol said in a release Saturday.

French and British media reported an international "red notice" had been posted for 72-year-old Jean-Claude Mas, former head of the Poly Implant Prothese company in Lyon, France, which provided hundreds of thousands of breast implant sacs.

In a terse release, Interpol said their interest and warrant had nothing to do with the implant issue.

"At this time, Interpol can only state that the criminal charge underlying the … 'Red Notice' relates to the local charge in Costa Rica of drunk driving which allegedly occurred in June 2010," the statement said.

"This same red notice has been available on Interpol's public Web site since its publication in June of this year, but has only generated international interest because of the recent controversy surrounding Mas and the potential health risk to women allegedly posed by his company's breast implants."

Mas is the founder of what became the world's third-largest supplier of breast implants until it was shut down last year after French authorities determined the sacs contained unsafe silicone gel, Radio France Internationale reported.

The French Health Ministry issued a statement Friday saying women who had implants manufactured by PIP should have them removed.

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